“Christina D. Romer, Chairwoman Of The Council Of Economic Advisers, Will Speak To The National Press Club In Washington (Wednesday).”  (”Economic Reports This Week,” The New York Times, 8/29/10)

WILL ROMER MENTION THAT OBAMA’S STIMULUS PROJECTIONS WERE OVERLY OPTIMISTIC AND HIS POLICIES ARE CAUSING UNCERTAINTY? (more…)

TODAY’S GDP REVISION MAKES CLEAR OBAMA’S “ECONOMY BARELY HAS A PULSE”

The Associated Press: “The Government Is About To Confirm What Many People Have Felt For Some Time: The Economy Barely Has A Pulse.” (Christopher S. Rugaber, “Snapshot Of Economy About To Get A Lot Bleaker,” The Associated Press, 8/27/10) (more…)

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, And Barney Frank

Have A Long Sordid History

BARNEY FRANK SAID YESTERDAY FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC SHOULD BE ABOLISHED

Rep. Barney Frank Calls For Fannie And Freddie To Be Abolished. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be abolished rather than reformed as part of the Obama administration’s planned overhaul of the government’s role in housing finance, Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services committee, said on Tuesday.” (JoAnne Allen, “Democrat Frank Says Abolish Freddie And Fannie: Report,” Reuters, 8/18/10) (more…)

“The Obama Economic Recovery
Continues To Lumber Forward With All The Momentum Of A Blind, Three-Legged
Elephant.”(Editorial, “The
Obama Recovery,” Las
Vegas Review-Journal, 8/8/10)

MORE
NEGATIVE ECONOMIC DATA CAME OUT FRIDAY

“Americans Spent Less At Most Retail Stores In July
And Inflation Remained Tame As High Unemployment And Weak Job Growth Fueled
Fears Of A Slowing Economic Recovery.” (Michael
Crutsinger, “Auto Sales Boost Otherwise Weak Retail Sector,” The
Associated Press, 8/13/10)

Declines For Most Retailers Indicate That The “The
Recovery Is Losing Momentum.” “But overall, the
declines for most retailers in July suggest the recovery is losing momentum.
‘There is only one thing that’s for sure - economic momentum has slowed,’
said Jennifer Lee, senior economist for BMO Capital Markets.” (Martin
Crutsinger And Christopher S. Rugaber, “Retail Sales Post July Gain,
Consumer Prices Rise,” The
Associated Press, 8/13/10)

The Gains In Consumer Sentiment “Was Too Small To
Represent A Meaningful Improvement.” “The
sentiment index is just several points above where it was a year ago, with
worries about prospects for job growth and income hanging over
sentiment.  ‘The gain was too small to represent a meaningful
improvement,’ Richard Curtin, director of the surveys, said in a statement.
‘Consumers have increasingly come to expect lackluster income and job growth
for an extended period of time.’” (”US Consumer
Sentiment Edges Up In Early Aug-Survey,” Reuters,
8/13/10)

A Majority Of Those Surveyed Did Not Think The Overall
Economy Would Change in the Next Year. “‘While
consumers increasingly believed the worst of the downturn was over..the
majority expected that overall economic conditions would remain largely
unchanged during the year ahead,’ Curtin said.” (”US Consumer
Sentiment Edges Up In Early Aug-Survey,” Reuters,
8/13/10)

THE
OUTLOOK FOR THE ECONOMY CONTINUES TO BE BLEAK

53 Surveyed
Economists “Offered A Bleak Picture Of Tepid Growth And High
Unemployment.” “The 53 surveyed economists, not all of whom answered every
question, offered a bleak picture of tepid growth and high unemployment. On
average, they still don’t see the unemployment rate dropping below 9% through
at least June 2011. They expect the economy to add just 136,000 jobs a month
over the next 12 months, down from a forecast of 157,000 in the July survey.
At that rate, job creation will barely keep up with new entrants to the labor
force.”  (Phil
Izzo, “Economists Want Policy Makers To Back Off Now,” The
Wall Street Journal, 8/13/10)

“‘If Claims
Remain At Their Current Level, Then Even The Modest Recent Gains In Private
Payrolls Will Not Be Sustained,’ Said Ian Shepherdson Of High Frequency
Economics.”
(Phil Izzo, “Economists Want Policy Makers To Back Off Now,” The
Wall Street Journal, 8/13/10)

“When Asked
About The Biggest Risk Facing The Economy, ‘Too Few Jobs, Too Little Wage
Income And Too Little Consumer Spending’ Was The Most Popular Choice.” (Phil Izzo, “Economists Want
Policy Makers To Back Off Now,” The
Wall Street Journal, 8/13/10)

“The Economy
Needs Government To Get Out Of The Way,” Said Stephen Stanley Of
Pierpont Securities. (Phil Izzo, “Economists Want
Policy Makers To Back Off Now,” The
Wall Street Journal, 8/13/10)

“Private Companies Have All But Frozen Their
Hiring.” At the beginning of the year, it looked
like that missed projection wouldn’t matter much politically as job growth
seemed to be picking up. But private companies have all but frozen their
hiring again, making a presidential explanation an imperative.” (Michael
D. Shear, “What Chilled The U.S. Economy? An Ill ‘Headwind’ From Europe Says Obama,” The
Washington Post, 8/13/10)

Companies May Find
The Right Person To Hire, But Are Holding Off Hiring Until The Future Is More
Certain. “Another part of the
problem, said Jeff Joerres, chief executive of staffing firm Manpower, could
be companies’ renewed uncertainty about the economic outlook. ‘It’s not
uncommon for us to get the right person for the job and the companies still
drag their feet for a month or more, just to try to get better visibility for
the future and to save another month of expense,’ he said.” (Mark Whitehouse, “Employers
Moving Slowly To Fill Jobs,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/11/10)

New
York Times Editorial
Board Says “The Odds Of Renewed Recession Remain Uncomfortably
High.” “The economic news — on
growth, consumers, housing and manufacturing — was bad enough before the
jobs report for July, released last Friday. The report leaves no doubt that a
slowdown is well under way. The odds of renewed recession remain
uncomfortably high.”  (Editorial, “As The Economy Slows,” The New York Times, 8/8/10)

SMALL
BUSINESSES AND EVEN DEMOCRAT LEADER

EXPRESSING
FRUSTRATION WITH OBAMA’S ECONOMIC POLICIES

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council Calls Obama’s
Economic Policies “Misguided” And Say They Are Preventing
Businesses From Hiring. “Misguided economic policies
advocated by the Obama administration and congressional Democrats have
increased taxes on companies and are taking a major toll on hiring decisions
by business leaders, claims Small Business & Entrepreneurship (SBE)
Council president and CEO Karen Kerrigan.” (Jay
Heflin, “Small Business Group Blames Democrats For Prolonged
Downturn,” The
Hill, 8/12/10)

“Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth Lashed Out At
President Barack Obama’s Economic Team Thursday, Saying They Show More
Concern For Wall Street Than Average Americans In A Blunt Election-Year
Assessment From An Obama Loyalist Frustrated By A Tepid Economic
Recovery.” (Bruce
Schreiner, “Dem Yarmuth Critical Of White House Economic Team,” Associated
Press, 8/12/10)

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) Says The White House Is More
Concerned About Goldman Sachs Making Money Than The American People. “I’m not
real happy with our economic team in the White House. . . They think it’s
more important that Goldman Sachs make money than that you make money. And
that’s where we’ve got to change the attitude of this country. . . I think we
have an opportunity to really regain the confidence of the American people if
we show here’s where we’re going to go and why. . . I don’t think the
administration’s done that yet.” (Bruce
Schreiner, “Dem Yarmuth Critical Of White House Economic Team,” Associated
Press, 8/12/10)

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Democrats Have Repeatedly Shown They’re Not Serious About Reforming Fannie And Freddie

“The Obama Administration Plans An Aug. 17 Conference To Discuss Ways To Fix The Country’s ‘Broken’ Housing-Finance System…” (Ian Katz, “Obama To Hold Aug. 17 Housing Conference On Ways To Repair Fannie, Freddie,” (more…)

New Jobs Report Does Little To Lift The “Dark Cloud” Looming Over The Economy

“President Barack Obama Lost A Second Member Of His Economic Team As Economist Christina Romer Decided To Return To Teaching On The Eve Of An Employment Report Highlighting The Administration’s Struggle To Spur Job Gains.”  (Hans Nichols and Vivien Lou Chen, “Romer Resigns In Second Exit For Obama Economy Team,” Bloomberg, 8/6/10) (more…)

PROFESSORS CALL OBAMA-DODD BILL “TRAGIC” AND “OUTRAGEOUS”

BECAUSE IT FAILS TO FIX ROOT CAUSES OF FINANCIAL CRISES

Yale Finance Professor Calls Obama-Dodd Bill “Tragic” Because “Financial System Would Remain Vulnerable To Panics.” “Gary B. Gorton, a finance professor at Yale, said the financial system would remain vulnerable to panics because the legislation would not improve the reliability of the markets where lenders get money … ‘It is unfortunate if we end up repeating history … It’s basically tragic that we can’t understand the importance of this issue.’” (Binyamin Appelbaum and Sewell Chan, “Senate Financial Bill Misguided, Some Academics Say,” The New York Times, 5/3/10) (more…)

Thanks To Obama, Future Is Bleak For Many Graduates As He Delivers Commencement Speech To Michigan Students

TODAY: “President Obama Will Deliver The Commencement Address At The University Of Michigan ….” (”Obama To Speak At U-M Tomorrow,” WHTC, 4/30/10)

BUT BECAUSE OF OBAMA’S POLICIES,

GRADUATES WILL ENTER WORLD WITH FEWER JOB OPPORTUNITIES (more…)

As Reid Pushes Partisan Bailout Bill For 3^rd Time In As Many Days,

DNC Ad Misleads On Who’s Really In The Pocket Of Wall Street Fat Cats

Claim

DNC Ad Claims That Their Bill Would “Protect Consumers” And “Prevent Future Bailouts.” “Wall Street’s risky bets nearly sank our economy. But when it came to Wall Street reform that would protect consumers and prevent future bailouts every Senate Republican voted ‘no.’” (DNC, “Risky Business,” TV Ad, 4/28/10)

Facts

But For Third Time In Three Days, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) Tried To Move Forward With Obama-Dodd Bill That Federal Trade Commission Says Could Mean “Less Protection For Consumers, And Fewer ‘Cops On The Beat.’” “The Federal Trade Commission … writes to express its strong and unanimous concerns with certain provisions in the ‘Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010,’ which was recently reported by the senate banking committee … We fear that the overall result could be less protection for consumers, and fewer ‘cops on the beat.’”  (S. 3127, Roll Call Vote #127, Reconsideration Of Cloture Vote On The Motion To Proceed, Rejected 56-42 (60 Votes Needed), R: 0-40, D: 54-2, I: 2-0, 4/27/10; Federal Trade Commission, Letter To Sen. Hutchison, 4/16/10)

National Journal Says “Under The Dodd Plan, Although The Senator Denies It, Many Big Financial Firms Would Indeed Be Declared Too Big To Fail.” (Clive Crook, “Dodd Misses The Point Of Financial Reform,” The National Journal, 3/20/10)

• Obama-Dodd Bill Creates $50 Billion Permanent Bailout Fund. (Page 277, S. 3217, Restoring American Financial Stability Act Of 2010, Introduced 4/15/10)

• Obama-Dodd Bill Could Lead To More Taxpayer-Funded Bailouts By Expanding Federal Reserve’s Power To Establish “Policies And Procedures Governing Emergency Lending.” (Page 1365, S. 3217, Restoring American Financial Stability Act Of 2010, Introduced 4/15/10)

• Obama-Dodd Bill Could Make Taxpayer-Funded Bailouts Even More Expensive By Allowing FDIC To Make “Additional Payments” To Firms That Backed Failed Financial Companies.  (Page 245, S. 3217, Restoring American Financial Stability Act Of 2010, Introduced 4/15/10)

• Obama-Dodd Bill Uses Taxpayer Dollars To Guarantee Debt Of Banks And Bank Holding Companies Through The Power Of The Federal Reserve And FDIC. (Page 1379, S. 3217, Restoring American Financial Stability Act Of 2010, Introduced 4/15/10)

• Obama-Dodd Bill Could Institutionalize Bailouts By Allowing A New Financial Oversight Council To Determine Which Companies Are “Too Big To Fail.” (Page 35, S. 3217, Restoring American Financial Stability Act Of 2010, Introduced 4/15/10)

Claim

DNC Ad Claims Republicans Blocked Financial Reform. “Republicans voted to block reform after a fundraiser with Wall Street lobbyists.” (DNC, “Risky Business,” TV Ad, 4/28/10)

Facts

But Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) Says Republican Concerns About Obama-Dodd Bill “Are Legitimate”And That “Parts” Of The Bill “Need To Be Tightened.” “Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who has been closely involved in negotiations, said that concerns being raised by republicans about potential bailouts of large financial institutions are legitimate … ‘There are parts that need to be tightened,’ Warner said, referring to the bill in the same manner as Sen. Richard Shelby, Alabama Republican and ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee.” (Jon Ward, “Obama Offers Simple Narrative Of GOP Obstruction, But Key Lawmakers Tell Another Story,” The Daily Caller, 4/27/10)

Reid’s Failed Cloture Votes “Is Exactly What [Democrat] Political Operatives Wanted” So That They Can Delay Getting A Bill Done. “Democrats lost the financial reform vote monday evening - which is exactly what their political operatives wanted … And finally, it allows the majority party to string out debate for a few more days on a bill…” (Martin Kaddy II, “Winning While Losing,” Politico’s “The Huddle,” 4/27/10)

•  By Holding Votes, Reid “Has Decided To Play A Game Of Political Chicken” On Financial Reform In Order To “Make It A Prominent Issue In The Mid-Term Elections.” “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has decided to play a game of political chicken with Senate Republicans, daring them to kill a Wall Street reform bill. Reid said he plans to move ahead with immediate consideration of the financial re gulatory reform bill … Reid has shown a willingness to force Republicans to vote on and kill the legislation. If the bill derails, Democrats say they will make it a prominent issue in the mid-term elections.” (Alexander Bolton, “Reid Plays Chicken On Wall Street Reform,” The Hill, 4/20/10)

And It Was Obama Who Scuttled Bipartisan Negotiations Three Times To Use Financial Regulation Debate As Political Weapon. “[S]ome Democrats believe continued action after health care reform will show real momentum for their agenda. But others argue that the White House would be better off – politically, anyway – if Democrats could hit the campaign trail in the fall and blame … Republicans for blocking the reform bill.” (Manu Raju and Eamon Javers, “Dems Bristle At Reform Deadline,” Politico, 4/5/10)

• FEBRUARY: White House Pulled Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) Away From Negotiation With Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL). “Just six days earlier, Dodd had said he hit an impasse with Senator Richard Shelby, the committee’s top Republican, in talks that have dragged on for more than a year over tightening oversight of banks and capital markets … Gregg said he believes Dodd and Shelby had an agreement on consumer protection before talks broke off. ‘If the white house hadn’t sort of pulled back the Democratic membership on that issue, we could all go forward in a bipartisan way.’” (Kevin Drawbaugh, “GOP’s Gregg Sees Progress On Financial Regulation,” Reuters, 2/12/10)

• MARCH: White House Pressured Dodd To Abandon Bipartisan Negotiations With Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). “Dodd announced Thursday he would schedule a committee markup the week of March 22 even though he and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) had not struck a final deal… Corker said negotiations were on ‘the 5-yard line’ and blamed politics … for complicating the talks … ‘There is no question that White House politics and healthcare have kept us from getting to the goal line,’ …” (Silla Brush, “Banking Chairman Dodd To Go It Alone On Financial Overhaul,” The Hill, 3/11/10)

• APRIL: Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) And Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Were Nearing Bipartisan Deal On Derivatives Until “White House Raised Objections To A Potential Compromise.” “White House officials have raised objections to a potential compromise between Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee regarding rules governing derivatives trading … The pressure from the White House and Treasury Department could complicate the broader congressional effort to rework financial regulation, as it could derail a bipartisan deal. … The Senate Agriculture Committee proposal, spearheaded by panel chairman Blanche Lincoln and Saxby Chambliss was seen by many as one of the few parts of the bill that could attract bipartisan support.” (Damian Paletta, “Hurdle Emerges To Financial Revamp,” The Wall Street Journal, 4/13/10)

Claim

DNC Ad Claims Republicans Did Nothing To Rein In Wall Street. “Republicans stood by as Wall Street ran wild… .” (DNC, “Risky Business,” TV Ad, 4/28/10)

Facts

Clinton Signed Repeal Of Glass-Steagall Act That Allowed Banks To “Run Into Trouble,” Leading To Their Bailouts. “But 10 years later, the end of Glass-Steagall has been blamed by some for many of the problems that led to last fall’s financial crisis … the huge banks born out of the revocation of Glass-Steagall, especially Citigroup, and the insurance companies that were allowed to deal in securities, like the American International Group, would not have run into trouble had the law still been in place …” (Cyrus Sanati, “10 Years Later, Looking At Repeal Of Glass-Steagall,” The New York Times, 11/12/09)

• And President Clinton Regrets Taking Advice Of Former Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin And Larry Summers For His Failure To Regulate The Derivatives Market. “Former President Bill Clinton said his Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers were wrong in the advice they gave him about regulating derivatives when he was in office. ‘I think they were wrong and I think I was wrong to take’ their advice, Clinton said in an interview on ABC’s ‘This Week’ program broadcast yesterday.” (Joshua Zumbrun, “Clinton Calls Advice He Received On Derivatives ‘Wrong’” Bloomberg, 4/19/10)

President Clinton Says That Blame For Crisis Rests With Democrats And His Administration For Resisting GOP Efforts To Reform Fannie And Freddie.  ”I think the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress, or by me when I was President, to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” (Seth Colter Walls, “McCain Ad Uses President Clinton To Bash Democrats,” The Huffington Post, 10/31/08)

• Senate Republicans’ Plan Directly Addresses Two Key Areas Behind The Subprime Crisis That Democrats Have Ignored: Fannie and Freddie, And Mortgage Loan Underwriting. “In addition, the Republican proposal advances ideas in two areas — loan underwriting standards and the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the housing finance entities now under government control — that are not directly addressed in the Democratic bill.” (Sewell Chan, “Republicans Offer Alternative Financial Overhaul,” The New York Times “The Caucus” Blog, 4/27/10)

Claim

DNC Ad Claims Republicans “Are Standing With The Big Banks Again,” Siding “With Wall Street Over Main Street.” “[N]ow they are standing with the big banks again. Tell Republicans if they stand with Wall Street over Main Street again, you won’t be siding with them.” (DNC, “Risky Business,” TV Ad, 4/28/10)

Facts

But Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) Says Obama-Dodd Bill Has “Unlimited Executive Bailout Authority,” “Something Wall Street Desperately Wants.” “But there are serious problems with the Dodd bill. The Dodd bill has unlimited executive bailout authority. That’s something Wall Street desperately wants but doesn’t dare ask for. The bill contains permanent, unlimited bailout authority.” (Politico’s “Health Care Arena,” 4/19/10)

•  That’s Why Goldman Sachs CEO, Llyod Blankfein, Says That He Supports The Dodd Bill And Agrees The “Biggest Beneficiaries Of Reform Will Be Wall Street Itself.” “I’m generally supportive. . . . [O]n the whole, financial reform is, absolutely is essential and I will say that last week, in New York, I listened to a speech by Barack Obama at Wall Street, and one of the points he made resonated with me because I’d said it myself. He said that the biggest beneficiaries of reform will be Wall Street itself.” (Homeland Security & Gov ernment Affairs, Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 4/27/10)

• And Citigroup CEO, Vickram Pandit, Endorses Obama-Dodd Bill. “I was gratified to hear you speak about these principles as the foundation of regulatory reform and you can count on me and the entire Citi organization to support them.” (Vickram S. Pandit, Letter To President Barack Obama, 4/23/10)

And It’s Democrats Who Have Been Siding With Wall Street By Accepting At Least $7,125,624 From Goldman Sachs Since The 2006 Election Cycle. (Center for Responsive Politics, OpenSecrets.org, Accessed 4/16/10)

•  In 2008 Election Cycle, President Obama Was The Largest Recipient Of Donations From JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi Group, AIG, Morgan Stanley And Bank Of America, Raking In Over $3,456,000. (Center for Responsive Politics, OpenSecrets.org, Accessed 4/16/10)

•  Obama Received At Least $996,595 From Goldman Sachs During The 2008 Election. (Center for Responsive Politics, opensecrets.org, Accessed 4/20/10)

• DNC Has Accepted At Least $3,886,763 From The Finance Industry This Election Cycle. (Center for Responsive Politics, OpenSecrets.org, Accessed 4/16/10)

• DSCC Has Accepted At Least $3,907,970 From The Finance Industry This Election Cycle. (Center for Responsive Politics, OpenSecrets.org, Accessed 4/16/10)

Obama-Dodd Bill Hurts Main Street With Local Auto Dealers Saying It Goes After “The Wrong People” And Would “Drive Up The Cost Of Auto Financing.” “The dealers say the measure would drive up the cost of auto financing because it would require hiring more people to follow federal regulations. They say it also could limit the types of financial products they offer. ‘It’s dangerous and it’s aiming at the wrong people,’ said Ed Tonkin, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association. ‘It’s using a sledgehammer to go after a gnat, and we’re not that gnat.’” (Damian Paletta and Victoria McGranae, “Car Dealers Seek Exemption,” The Wall Street Journal, 4/28/10)

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Obama’s Defense Secretary Supports Free Trade Agreement With Colombia That Obama Opposes

SHOT: SECRETARY ROBERT GATES YESTERDAY IN BOGOTA, COLOMBIA: “I would hope we would be in a position to make a renewed effort to get ratification of the free trade agreement… It is a good deal for Colombia; it is also a good deal for the United States.” (Julian E. Barnes, “Gates Calls For Ratification Of Colombia Free Trade Agreement,” The Los Angeles Times, 4/16/10) (more…)